Reds and White Sox to play two in Windy City
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - After rain washed away the opener of a three-game series between the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox, the two clubs will tangle in a doubleheader Saturday at U.S. Cellular Field.
The Reds hope to begin the final stretch of their 10-game road trip and are 4-3 on the trek. They failed in their bid of a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates with Thursday's 7-2 loss.
Todd Frazier homered for the 10th time this season and starting pitcher Anthony DeSclafani was dealt the loss for allowing three runs and seven hits in five innings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I was fighting myself," DeSclafani said. "I definitely wasn't happy with this outing. I wasn't getting ahead of hitters at all. I've got to figure something out and make changes ASAP."
DeSclafani walked four and struck out one.
It didn't help that the Reds went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Johnny Cueto aims to bounce back when he toes the rubber Saturday in the first game and was tagged for five runs and nine hits over a season-low six innings in a 5-0 loss at Atlanta on Sunday. Cueto was aiming for his third straight win and is 2-3 with a 2.72 ERA in six starts.
The right-hander is 1-2 in three road starts and will face Chicago for the second time in his career. He gave up five runs and 10 hits, including three home runs, in 4 2/3 innings.
Jason Marquis will take the mound for Cincinnati in the nightcap and has won his last three starts. He is 3-1 with a 5.22 earned run average in five outings and gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings in Saturday's 8-4 win at Atlanta.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marquis has made four career starts against the White Sox, going 2-1 with a less-than-stellar 9.00 ERA.
Reds first baseman Joey Votto will serve a one-game suspension for bumping an umpire on Wednesday against Pittsburgh. He was also fined for the incident.
"I feel fairly strongly that the penalty was fair," Votto said. "I wanted it done as soon as possible. I didn't want to miss multiple games, the fewer the better. But I do feel like have to pay the price for my actions."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, the White Sox recently took two of three from the Detroit Tigers and were denied a sweep with Thursday's 4-1 loss.
Avisail Garcia drove in Chicago's lone run and Jose Quintana fell to 1-3 on the mound after surrendered two runs in five innings. He struck out eight and walked two batters.
"They did a pretty good job of batting deep in their at-bats, not giving in," White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers said of the Tigers. "They fouled off a lot of well-executed pitches and forced you to throw multiple instead of getting them out on the first one."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Chicago has lost six of its last eight games and will hand the ball to Hector Noesi in the first game. Noesi is winless (0-3) on the season and has a 6.75 ERA. He allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings of a 5-3 loss at Minnesota on Saturday and has faced the Reds once before in relief.
Carlos Rodon is scheduled to make his first career start for the Pale Hose Saturday night and the rookie is 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA in three relief appearances.
Rodon tossed three scoreless innings against Minnesota last Saturday and the left-hander will get his first taste of National League competition. He will try to take advantage of this situation with Jeff Samardzija serving a five- game suspension.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There's no guarantees that he's gonna stay in the rotation even if he has a good game," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "I expect him to have a good game. The way it sits right now, he would still be back in the bullpen and getting us some innings there."
The White and Reds are meeting for the first time since 2009, when Chicago took two of three matchups in the Queen City.